BRILLIANT SHOWING OF NONPARTISANSHIP

you say it's my birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday and my family and friends made it an amazing day -- or days rather -- of celebration. Growing up in the Nelson home,your birthday wasn't just one day -- it usually lasted at least a weekend if not a whole week. A HUGE thank you to family and friends, near and far, for making me feel so loved on this "prime" birthday of mine. From the yummy Ledo's pizza to the delicious turkey dinner -- the Cajun Dancing to the performance of "you say it's your birthday", it was all so amazing! LOVE YOU ALL! Here's a little picture chronicle:

A marvelous Mom-esque cake by Cubbie Nelson!

Present opening! You guys shouldn't have!

Bryan's distraction plan prior to blindfolding me!

see?

Blindfold removed, but eyes still closed.

Eyes finally opened to small portraits of yours truly. Please note that the artists were not allowed to look at their papers while drawing. Here are a few favorites.

I'm so pretty!

The note on the back of this one assured me that I was actually prettier than this. :)

This one was my favorite courtesy of Jenica.

I don't know if it was compassion on me or worry that they'd burn the house down, but they scaled down on the number of candles they used. Thanks guys.

Friends!

More friends!

Ben was so excited about my birthday he could hardly contain himself!

Blue hair and blond curls courtesy of mommy!

and not to be outdone!

And the highlight of the evening! My very own performance by these lovely ladies! Sorry the video quality is poor, but you'll get the idea.

THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!

Come Fly With Me

Where my flatware has gone, I'll never know, but it has become necessaryto replenish. I found, via Domino's website, this great vintage airlineflatware from www.fishseddy.com. It's adorable! I know - how excitingcan knives and forks be? Well, I'm easily pleased.

See? So cute.

food SHOULD taste good!

As many of you know, I have recently discovered that I have a gluten-wheat-dairy allergy. Bummer, right? When I tell people, after they recover from their horror, they always ask, "what CAN you eat then?". Well, I CAN eat these chips. I was at Costco the other day and came across some Mutigrain Chips from the Food Should Taste Good brand (love the brand name). They have an olive, mutigrain, jalepeno, sweet potato, buffalo, the works, and a CHOCOLATE chip and they are all certified gluten-free. HAPPY DAY! They're so good I would recommend them even to all of you who still can enjoy the joys of gluten. Lots of fiber, flax, etc. YUM-MY!

AMY, ANDREW & ALLISON

I went to go visit my friend and former roommate, Amy Hughes Webb a couple of weeks ago. It was a great visit -- she's amazing! We made gluten free pizzas with goat cheese, which is the only cheese I can have and I met Baby Andrew for the first time. He is adorable, and we totally bonded. But I wanted to make everyone aware of two things: 1) her totally awesome blog www.mommyandbeyond.blogspot.com. She has great ideas and is so creative! 2) She's starting an etsy shop and as soon as I know the name, I'll let you know. YAY AMY!

Look at this adorable bag she made!

BAMA!

We just got back yesterday from a visit to Alabama to visit my sister Kim and her family and to meet my new nephew Henry! I miss them already! Thanks so much, you guys.

Playing with Uncle Jimmy!
Pretty mommy!
Aunt Cubbie Loves Baby Burrito

Henry's favorite hold courtesy of Uncle Jimmy.

Just one of Sam's many tactics to keep the boys occupied.
Best baby! Seriously! He's so amazing!
Cuddling with Daddy!
Sam, Luke and Dad in the fort made out of our air mattresses.
They look so sweet, don't they? :)

Auntie Kass!

Henry Loves Grandma!

good at some things -- bad at others!

So turns out that I’m not good at blogging -- not a total surprise, but I am going to try to redeem myself with some tales (mainly pictures) from the “road”.

1: "Wear An Eye Patch, Brett" -- First thing you should know is that my mom has an entire storage room dedicated to “dress-ups”. My family loves costumes and will jump on any opportunity to get decked out – for airport pick-ups, movies, parties, etc. Halloween is practically a religious holiday for us. We all love it, but my sister has become queen of all costumes. I think she wins every costume contest she’s ever been in and has enough costumes to dress an entire party, which she practically did at her “wear the funky funky eye patch”, David Bowie themed party. David Bowie. Dancing. Abba. And lots of blond wigs – recipe for success?? I think so.

This might be the best picture EVER!

Hmm, maybe it's a tie . . .

David Bowie, The Famous Purple Dress, and Complete Ownership of an 80s Power Dress.

The only thing not great about this night was that this kid, aka my little brother in the orange wig, left me the next day. LOVE YOU SAM!

#2: Liz Has a Birthday and Then Ditches Us for BYU -- you're forgiven but just barely because I'll see you in a month! That other girl is my sister, who is also in trouble for leaving me. Aren't they adorable??

Jim actually took the opportunity to relive his hair braiding days -- not bad at all! This is the type of training that comes with having 5 sisters.

#3 Tim's First Going Away Party -- Anyone sense a theme here?!

#4 The Final Blow -- Katherine Leaves Me: I was so lucky to have my sister Katherine with me this summer. It was the best! Sadly, she had to go back to BYU. Waaa! I can't go on!